“Happy St. Patty’s Day”
(or, if you prefer, rantings of a former “A-Type” person)
(a random pagemonkey rant)

A good friend recently sent me an email in which this image was included, and it went unnoticed for several days because I was in a bad mood and it looked just too damn happy to appreciate at the moment.

But now that I’ve had a chance to pull my top end out of my backside, Gentle Reader, let’s both explore such things, m’kay?

I have no idea where this photo was taken, or who the cute guy holding the sun is, but I want to thank him and whomever snapped the pic for brightening my day. We simply don’t spend enough time holding the sun these days; we spend too much time pricing long stemmed roses for delivery and not enough time sniffing the ones growing in a neighbor’s garden. Damn shame, that.

With all the things that could be so much better in the world than they are right now weighing me down, it’s time for me to make time to find the good things in life and simply appreciate them.

As another Saint Patty’s Day looms ahead, I find myself eager - not so much for the incredible amount of beer I’ll be drinking, but for the parade.

Gentle Reader, it’s far past time to enjoy something simple. For me, it’s going to be Denver’s first parade of the year, Saint Patrick’s Day, the patron saint of Ireland. I’m not Irish, but I’m more than happy to dive in to something which means we can all get together and laugh and joke, and appreciate things that are so inane we would find nothing in them to warrant attention in our daily lives. The festival atmosphere, when we decide to cluster and celebrate and lay down our concerns and prejudice, is a much needed tonic - and it is one of the miracles of the human psyche.

Naturally, some thought should always be given to the future, which brings up the topic of Saint Bibiana (or Viviana) - the patron saint of those suffering from hangovers.

Many thanks to mirabilis.ca for this wonderful information.

Did you have a bit much to drink last night? You might be interested to know that the patron saint for people suffering from hangovers is Saint Bibiana (or Viviana).

Bibiana was a virgin and martyr who died around 361. And how did she come to be associated with relief from hangovers? Here is one possible explanation:

Because the Spanish pronounce the letter “V” as the letter “B”, Saint Viviana’s name which means “full of life” (Latin vivo) was thought by them to mean “full of drink” (Latin bibo). Consequently, the Spanish invoked Saint Bibiana’s name against hangovers.

And here’s another possibility:

A church was built over her grave, in the garden of which grew an herb that cured headache and epilepsy. This and her time spent with the mentally ill led to her areas of patronage.

Bibiana’s other areas of patronage include those who suffer from torture, epilepsy, headaches, insanity, or mental illness.

Of course, it means all the time we’ve spent “praying to the porcelain god” was actually in vain. That explains why doing so makes you feel a little better but certainly not fully cured by any measure… Years ago, in my younger, more volatile state, I would have had no appreciation for the richness of this situation.

Generally, we’re not overly exposed to the patron saint of hangovers in bible study or Sunday school. Least I wasn’t. Irony at its best. And I’ll leave you with this: Go get some ass and have a good time!

~ pagemonkey